The double dose of good news will be welcomed by George Osborne whose promise in 2011 that Britain will be ‘carried aloft by the march of the makers’ has taken a long time to bear fruit.

Rob Wood, chief UK economist at Berenberg Bank, said the reports were ‘exactly what the doctor ordered’ amid warnings that the housing market is running out of control.

‘The UK’s economic rebound looks an awful lot healthier with more evidence that this is no credit-fuelled bubble,’ he

said. ‘The UK rebound remains strong and could even be picking up pace.’Experts said the economy is on course to grow by around 1 per cent in the second quarter of the year following expansion of 0.8 per cent between January and March.

Samuel Tombs, UK economist at Capital Economics, said: ‘The latest data on the manufacturing sector and household borrowing has provided more encouraging evidence that the economic recovery is shifting away from its excessive dependence on housing and consumers towards industry.’

The purchasing mangers’ index of activity in the manufacturing sector – where scores above 50 represent growth – eased from 57.3 in April to a still strong 57 in May.

It was the 15th month of growth in a row and considerably higher than readings in the United States and across Europe.

Output in France went into reverse as the country lived up to its reputation as ‘the sick man of Europe’, while the pace of growth in Germany eased.

UK firms – such as BAE Systems, which last month launched the HMS Artful nuclear submarine, pictured – saw export orders rise for a 14th consecutive month amid improved demand from the US, Asia, Canada, Europe, the Middle East and New Zealand.

The report, by Markit and the Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply, also showed employment increased for a 13th month in a row, with large and small companies taking on new staff.

Rob Dobson, senior economist at Markit, said: ‘The revival of UK manufacturing continued in May, as the sector basked in one of its brightest growth spells of the past two decades.

‘However, with manufacturing still some 7.5 per cent smaller than its pre-crisis peak, even at this current growth rate it would take until late-2015 to achieve full recovery.

Figures from the Bank of England showed lenders approved 62,918 mortgages in April – the fewest since July last year and 17 per cent below the six-year high hit in January.

Experts blamed the introduction of the strict Mortgage Market Review rules which have seen borrowers subjected to a forensic probe into their personal finances and lifestyle to ensure they can afford the repayments even after interest rates rise. Martin Beck, senior economic advisor to the EY Item Club, said ‘a sustained cooling’ in the housing market is taking place as the new mortgage regime ‘making its mark’.

Neil Prothero, deputy chief economist at EEF, the manufacturers’ organisation, welcomed the ‘important role being played by industry in the UK’s continuing recovery’.

‘Signs of a pick-up in export orders are especially welcome, as the broader rebalancing story still requires a significant boost in net trade to support the recent rebound in business investment,’ he said.